House Dems take on WI's Walker

By SEUNG MIN KIM

05/21/2012 01:16 PM EDT

House Democrats are taking a swing at Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker by demanding that he clarify congressional testimony last spring on his efforts to take on the state’s unions — a request that Republicans quickly panned.

In a letter released Monday, Reps. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Gerry Connolly of Virginia and Chris Murphy of Connecticut said Walker’s comments in a recently-disclosed video seemed to contradict his April 2011 testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that Walker’s move to end most collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions was not politically motivated.

But in April 2011, as the Democratic lawmakers noted, Walker testified that he never had any discussions about using his union reforms to “punish members of the opposition party and their donor base.”

Walker also stressed during the congressional hearing that the union reforms were about balancing the state’s budget.

“Congress relies on the accuracy of official testimony to make effective policy determinations, and you have written letters in the past asking witnesses to clarify testimony before our committee when new information arises,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). “In this case, it is possible that Governor Walker had forgotten his conversation with his largest campaign donor when he testified before our Committee. We ask that you write to Governor Walker on behalf of the Committee and request an explanation for why his statements captured on this videotape appear to contradict his testimony before the Committee.”

Republicans dismissed the Democrats’ demands and accusations on the validity of Walker’s comments to the committee.

Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie replied to the request by noting that restructuring the unions’ collective bargaining agreements has saved Wisconsin more than $1 billion so far.

“It’s ironic that Democrats in Washington D.C. criticize Gov. Walker for passing a budget, since they have now gone more than 1,000 days without enacting one for our federal government,” Werwie said in an e-mail. “They should spend less time on political stunts and more time eliminating the crippling burden of debt their lack of action has placed on our next generation.

“Nothing in this letter raises questions about the accuracy of the governor’s testimony,” Issa spokesman Jeffrey Solsby added in an e-mail. “This request has no merit and can only be seen as intending to influence a state election.”